Compiled by Nicoline Greer.
I DO, I DO, I DO
New Irish website, Wedding Wish List, is just in time for the January rush on wedding fairs. The website isn't tied to just one shop - there are 12 categories of gift partners which cover Furniture & Home, Crafts & Giftware, Art & Design, Short Breaks, Restaurants, Health & Beauty, Electronics, Garden & DIY, Specialist Stores and Unusual Gifts. You choose the gifts either online or by visiting the gift partner shops and outlets. The website also allows couples to set up their own wedding website, where they can manage RSVPs, post details of the day and photos after the ceremony. You'll receive regular checklists and reminders to help ensure all preparations are in hand, so that you know exactly what needs to be done in the run-up the wedding. The service is free and is also available over the phone, 0818-222222, www.weddingwishlist.ie
WIGGLE IT
Get off your yoga mats, get up and swing those hips at Samba classes in Dublin. Physiotherapist Ethel Brady, whose hosts the classes in her gym, says that doing a workout on your feet can be superior to lying down to do it, because you actually work your postural muscles, better known as your tummy and back. Taught by Brazilian Vanessa Cuelho, the classes will have the most Irish of waists and hips moving by the end of the 90 minutes. They happen on Tuesdays, from 7.30 p.m. to 9 p.m. There will be a break in February as Vanessa shakes it a Carnival in Rio. Classes are €8 at Physio-Extra: Injuries Gym, Thomas Street Car Park, 4 Oliver Bond Street, Dublin 8, 01-6725719, vanessa@masamba.com.
ELECTRIC AVENUE
Beat the traffic jam blues and whizz around town on an electric moped. The Cultivate Sustainable Living Centre stocks this green machine. It's smart, clean, incredibly cheap to run and whispers you round town. You'll never have to visit another petrol station again: once you charge it up, you get between 50 and 60 kilometres per charge. There is also a very small road tax charge. The Cultivate Centre also has a selection of electric bikes and scooters from €250. Electric Moped EVT 168 - The Magic Carpet Ride €2,525 plus vehicle registration fee (€74). Cultivate Sustainable Living Centre, 15-19 Essex Street West, Temple Bar, Dublin, 01-6746415.
IS THIS YOUR BAG?
Next time you're fighting your way through the shoppers in central Dublin, recharge the batteries by relaxing for five minutes on a Budda Bag. No not a beanbag. Budda bags are bigger (sofa-sized) and filled with viscous foam, an altogether springier and more durable material than standard beanbags filling. They are for sale in the Budda Bag shop just off the north quays. "After falling into a Budda Bag for the first time, you will never again relax in anything else," promises Andrew Cooper (left), manager of the new shop. They are considerably dearer than the old bedsit furniture too (from €99.99 to €1,199), but it costs nothing to put your feet up in the shop. "This is not a shop in the conventional sense," says Cooper. "It's more about fun and comfort. Drop in, sit down, relax." The shop will also sell lighting and home cinemas, and hopes to offer yoga classes. Budda Bag, Jervis House, New Millennium Walkway (a continuation of the Millennium Bridge). 01-8734245
PARALLEL UNIVERSE
The former DesignYard space in Temple Bar, Dublin is once again opening its doors to the world of contemporary jewellery. In what is now the Temple Bar Information Centre, from this Wednesday, the Embassy of the Czech Republic and Temple Bar Properties present Creation, an exhibition of Czech jewels created by Slovakian, Martina Mináriková. The 24 pieces of jewellery belong to two sets called "Cosmic Game" and "Creation". For these collections, Mináriková was inspired by the processes that occur in the universe and in the human body. And we can watch this space, as Temple Bar Properties intends to hold more exhibitions here. Temple Bar Information Centre, 12 East Essex Street, Temple Bar, Dublin 2. January 20th- February 4th, 2005. The opening times are Monday to Friday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m.-6 p.m.